Nebraska Congressmen Don Bacon and Jeff Fortenberry and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst were among the GOP lawmakers aboard a train that crashed into a truck Wednesday morning.
The accident occurred near Charlottesville, Virginia. "I am on the train, but I am okay," Congressman Bacon said in a tweet.
Fortenberry tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that those on board weren't sure what happened at first. "It was a casual atmosphere on the train and I thought perhaps the train derailed, or something got caught underneath it, like a tree. Then we discovered that it had hit a garbage truck. It was just a very peculiar, frightening moment with a loud boom type sound and a jarring rock. My first thought was maybe it derailed, but then the train kept moving at regular speed."
Ernst tweeted, "I was on the train with my colleagues, but Iām okay. Please keep the drivers of the truck and train engineers in your prayers."
The train, also carrying House Speaker Paul Ryan, was on its way to a GOP legislative retreat in West Virginia when it hit the truck. No serious injuries were reported on the train.
Authorities confirm the driver of the truck was killed. The train left from Union Station in Washington earlier Wednesday.